MAM
Brand new innings! Abhik Chakraborti joins Ileseum as marketing head
MUMBAI: From Hungama to Ileseum marketing maverick Abhik Chakraborti is back in the spotlight, this time with a brand playbook that’s as bold as it is brilliant. Ileseum Clubs has roped in seasoned marketing strategist Abhik Chakraborti as its new head of marketing, signalling a high-impact move as the lifestyle and leisure brand gears up for its next growth sprint. With a career spanning over 19 years, Abhik brings to the table a powerful blend of branding finesse, content vision, and campaign muscle.
From orchestrating big-ticket IPs like IIFA at Wizcraft International to crafting luxury narratives at Shazé, his stints read like a marketing masterclass. He’s also held top roles at Percept Ltd, Rhiti Group, Hungama, and even steered digital-first strategies as CMO at Bedbathmore making him well-versed in the art of blending entertainment with enterprise.
At Ileseum, his mandate is clear: supercharge brand visibility, build cultural capital, and drive marketing innovation across physical and digital touchpoints.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Abhik to the Ileseum family,” the team announced, describing his arrival as pivotal to the brand’s journey into uncharted territories of consumer experience and storytelling.
A Mumbai native and marketer by instinct, Abhik is known for balancing the boardroom and the backstage building brands that not only perform but perform with flair. Whether it’s managing strategic alliances at Promo Sapiens or crafting content ecosystems, his career is a showcase in adaptability and narrative-driven growth.
As Ileseum Clubs expands its footprint, expect Abhik to spin more than just campaigns, this one’s all set to script a brand renaissance.
Brands
Abhinav Rastogi named global marketing director for YouTube Shopping
Google veteran to scale creator commerce and expand shopping across global markets
SINGAPORE: Abhinav Rastogi has stepped into a new role as global marketing director for YouTube Shopping, marking the latest chapter in a more than decade-long career at Google.
Rastogi, who took on the position in February and is based in Singapore, will lead global marketing for YouTube Shopping, a platform designed to connect creators, viewers and merchants in a single ecosystem. His remit includes expanding the service into new markets and strengthening its positioning as a growth channel for both creators and brands.
In a reflective note on the transition, Rastogi pointed to a simple but powerful idea driving the role. For years, creators have quietly built trust with audiences through consistent and authentic content, and that trust often shapes purchasing decisions. What is changing now, he said, is the infrastructure around that behaviour. YouTube Shopping aims to make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products recommended by creators they already follow.
The scale is already significant. More than half a million creators have joined the programme, with recent expansion into Japan through a partnership with Rakuten signalling further global ambitions.
Rastogi believes the future of shopping on YouTube will be driven by a blend of creators, content and communities. In his view, it is the human voice behind the screen, not just the product, that ultimately builds trust and drives discovery.
Prior to this role, he served as director of marketing, YouTube Asia Pacific, where he led regional marketing across creator engagement, brand building and reputation. During that time, he played a key role in launching and scaling YouTube Shopping across eight markets in the region.
Earlier stints at Google include group product marketing manager, consumer apps, overseeing growth for products such as Search, Maps and Assistant across India and Southeast Asia, and product marketing manager roles spanning consumer apps and YouTube, where he contributed to launches including YouTube Music, YouTube Originals and YouTube Shorts.
Rastogi began his career in consulting with Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney, before moving into the technology sector. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Alongside his corporate role, he is also an active angel investor, backing early-stage startups in consumer technology and electric mobility across India and Southeast Asia.
As he settles into the new role, Rastogi is betting on a future where every video can double up as a storefront, and where commerce feels less like a transaction and more like a recommendation from a trusted voice.
